Hurray, I’ve lost another pound! Down 14 and my doctor’s appointment is scheduled for the 29th. That’s only 87 days into my journey, but I think I’m ready. My hubby has lost 20 pounds eating the same foods I have been eating and he recently had his blood work done and discovered that his cholesterol levels are now at the level of someone who does aerobics daily. I’m looking forward to my results.

I’m also going to have an MRI done on my knee on the 29th. I want to know what’s causing my discomfort so I can get back to biking 5 miles a day. I miss it. The doctor believes it could be scar tissue. Without biking, my aggressive weight loss goals are on the back burner. So I’m anxious to get moving.

Speaking of moving, working part time is agreeing with me. I’m wearing a pedometer and I walked 8,900 steps the other day. They say that 2000 steps equals one mile so I’ve been busy. I’m also glad to be “out in the world.” Working at home does have its social limits. While there hasn’t been much time for socializing, the interaction is nice and I’ve been supplementing my income and that feels great. Once I’ve completed training, it’s a commission only job, but I can sell so I’m looking forward to the challenge. Like tennis, sales rely totally on the skill of the individual. If I close, I win and I’ve been selling to the press for years.

I’ve also begun to realize that becoming an empty nester is getting closer and closer as my son has begun the college application process. While he’s applied locally to Clemson, he’s applying to colleges in Florida, New York and California and they all have a major price tag. Another reason to be happy I’m supplementing my income.

I’ve learned that it really doesn’t matter which one he selects as they all cost about the same. The real difference will be how far he wants to commute. If he’s in California, I’ll see him at Christmas and over the summer. If it’s New York, we could visit with him when we visit his sister who attends college in Manhattan. Florida would be a day’s drive and Clemson a few hour’s drive away. It will be interesting to see where he lands as he’s getting letters from colleges all over the country; I can only hope one of them will come with a scholarship!

I’m down 13 pounds! I finally broke through my plateau and lost two more pounds by watching what I eat. It could have, would have, been more if I was biking, but I decided to stop biking again until I saw a doctor. So I made an appointment and had an x-ray taken. The x-ray showed no damage, so now I have to wait to see if my insurance will approve an MRI. The doctor believes I’ve stressed my “Anserine bursa” and the discomfort I’m feeling is from inflammation. So he wrote me a prescription, told me to remember to stretch before I exercise and advised me to have the distance between my bike seat and pedal checked to make sure I’m not bending my knee too much. Good advise, but I’d feel better if I got an MRI to see what is really happening.

While I was being checked, the nurse took my blood pressure, it was 90 over 60. She couldn’t believe how good it was so she took it twice. Not bad, when I started this adventure, my blood pressure had slowly climbed to 115 over 80. I’ve averaged around 112 over 68 for years. So my healthful diet and walking Stacey May is beginning to show its benefits and I’m pleased.

I also started a part-time job this week. I wanted something that would help with my daughter’s monthly college expenses and keep my debt in check. I’m in training now. It’s sales. The hours are great if you want to pursue other interests, and heck, I’ve been selling images and change for years so why not. Once I’m done training, it’s purely commission which is a bit unnerving, but I’ll be working nights and weekends. That’s great because I still have time to work on PR contracts and start other ventures. It’s a win/win for me.

Then I found out another benefit to working part-time. The person who’s training me said that she lost 30 pounds when she first started working there. Gee make money and lose weight, I could really like this arrangement.

So things have been moving forward, not perfect, but moving forward. I honestly believe that when one door closes another opens. Sometimes you have to look really hard to find it, but it’s there if you just look. Now I just want to see where this door leads me.

Hurrah, my knee is all better and so it’s back to biking for me! Now, if it would just stop raining. Granted I’m a rainy day kind of gal. I love it when it rains, it relaxes me. Maybe by this evening the rain will stop and I’ll be able to make my 5-mile ride. If not, it’s also a great day to curl up with a book.

I’ve been reading about Hypnosis. I’m researching the topic for a book I’m starting to write. I actually did the initial research before I was married and then only thought about it over the years. So I’ve decided it’s time. It’s a thriller wrapped around the Salem witch trials. Yeah it’s another witching novel. I don’t like vampires or werewolves so it’s witches for me. I grew up reading Stephen King and I got the itch to do this book when I visited Salem, MA years ago. It’s placed in modern times so it’s not really a rehash of the same old story.

I’ve got a few other story ideas that I want to pursue. Another book I’ve outlined is for 5th and 6th graders. It’s a comedic fantasy that is sure to keep kids entertained. I’m going to continue with both and see which one earns my full attention and then we’ll see what happens. As for the others, they’ll have to wait.

Why two books at once? They say that when you write books, they become a part of your reality. While I look forward to bringing my characters to life and creating the story lines I’ve been contemplating for years, I think splitting my attention on both will ground me, keep me from getting writer’s block and keep my creative juices running.

I over extended my knee today and now I’m off my bike for the week. It’s nothing permanent, just sore, but I don’t want to make it worse. So my goal for the next few days is to relax the knee and not gain a single pound. I can still walk Stacey May and watch what I eat.

I love that I’ve lost 11 pounds. I feel better and my clothes fit nicer. But I’m concerned, my real goal is to reduce the fats in my liver. Even though my cholesterol levels are normal, a sonogram showed fat deposits that alarmed me and my doc. So I’m dieting. The real success will be if my healthful eating and water drinking is helping my liver process excess fat tissue. So in November, I’ll return to my doctor to have a sonogram done and we’ll see if eating the right foods is enough.

So I guess it’s fair to say that I won’t be losing 50 pounds in 100 days. Too much has happened over the past month or so to keep knocking me off my target weight loss goal. Nonetheless, I’m going to keep losing weight. I can’t wait to be 20 pounds less…so come on that’s get this show on the road.

My plateau sucks, but I won’t give up. Biking 5 miles a day and walking a mile or more are now part of my life and I look forward to them. So it’s just the eating thing that’s got me frustrated.

According to the book, “The Diet Solution,” if you’re a protein type like me, you crave rich, fatty foods such as pizza, sausages and salty roasted nuts. Yep, that’s me. And I’m supposed to love food. Yeah, I love food. So when I eat more carbs than protein, I’m supposed to crave sugar. Yep, that’s me too. So the shoe fits.

What’s next? As a protein type, it proposes that I eat a diet high in proteins and fats and low in carbs. It says if I do eat carbs I have to pick fruits and veggies with some grains. I’m to focus on whole eggs, dark-meat poultry, beef and dairy. Not the best choices for someone who needs to reduce their cholesterol are they?

Yeah that’s what I thought too. But the author is convincing me that it’s not saturated fat that’s causing my issues, but refined carbs, processed foods and hydrogenated oils. My liver has been so busy processing junk that it was able to process “fat” and that’s why my liver showed signs of fatty deposits. It also says that if I eat the right foods I won’t be hungry. So I’ll play along and see what it does for me.

If the above doesn’t fit you, then you might be a carb type or a mixed type. To find your type you can take the Metabolic Typing Diet by Wolcott and Fahey or purchase “The Diet Solution” book like I did. My daughter’s a carb type…a weak appetite; gets by on small amounts of food, loves baked goods and starchy veggies. My hubby and son tested out to be mixed types, they have characteristics from both extremes.

It’s good to be home and back to biking and walking. Unfortunately, the events of the last month have put a damper on my weight loss as I’m holding at 11 pounds. It’s been two weeks, heading toward three. Now that I think about it, I remember why I stopped trying to lose weight last November. I had stopped drinking soft drinks, lost 10 pounds quickly and then hit a wall. I got frustrated and eventually gave into my cravings for sodas. Wow, I had forgotten about that.

As I continued to read about dieting, I’ve read that you can plateau, especially if you’re calorie counting. My latest read is “The Diet Solution.” The author proposes that by eating less I’m “starving my body” and therefore it’s holding onto weight for fear of “famine.” Yet the calorie Counting site I’ve been using says to lose an average of 2 pounds a week, I have to eat less than 1200 calories a day.

The Diet Solution suggests that you stop counting calories and eat based on my metabolism type. I’m the “meat” metabolism type and I should be eating 2,000 calories a day. It’s all so frustrating. But she may be right. It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve seen real weight loss. While I personally think it is stress, I’ll give her method a shot.

With the job market being as it is, any competitive edge is important. And being 50 in today’s market is no competitive edge and that’s unfortunate. I’ve run into three women in my situation. It appears that corporations no longer value compounded experience and insurance costs have made it undesirable to hire baby boomers as they increase the risks associated with health care costs.

So if you can get past the resume stage and make it to the interview, you have to look and feel as young as possible! I’ve been told I have a “young” personality and energy to burn. And here recently, my friends and family are noticing a change in my appearance. As I’ve been interviewing for full-time positions, I’m pleased at the small change 11 pounds have made for me. I can’t wait to see what an additional 10, 20 pounds will do for my girlish figure!

My weight-loss journey is also helping during the interview as I make sure I let them know I bike five miles a day and introduce my blog and journey as positives in my life. The blog also informs my “potential” employer that I use today’s social media and that’s important for someone in public relations and marketing.

In addition to reducing my weight, I also reduced the length of my resume. It seems with 18 years of experience I was “overqualified” for the market. And while I didn’t want to dumb down my resume, I did reduce it down to one page and targeted it toward the jobs I’ve found in the area. It’s working and I’m getting interviews.

As I wait to return to full-time status, I continue to accept short-term assignments and freelance work. But with one daughter in college and my son getting ready to take that path, I need full-time employment. I need a job.

As with all challenges in my life, I’m not going to let my age be a handicap. I believe I’m headed in the right direction to reach my goals and I’m enjoying the journey.